Mark Dantonio: Rose Bowl always part of the plan

December 31, 2013

SiriusXM College Sports Nation sat down with Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio recently to talk about his Spartans earning a trip to the Rose Bowl. Dantonio explained that winning the Big Ten delivered on a promise he had made to his players.

“It’s been part of the plan since Day 1,” Dantonio said. “You know I had an opportunity to come out here last May to a donor event […] I did a little video for our guys. It’s sort of surreal to look at that video now and listen to what I had to say. We’ve had this direction, we’ve been close before, 2011 we were one play away from being here, so our players could understand it and taste it. And when we got to Lucas Oil, we got the championship game a couple weeks back, it wasn’t good enough just to be in the game. We needed to win that football game, and there was a sense of urgency there.”

Dantonio also explained to SiriusXM College Sports Nation why he has such a serious demeanor on game day.

Listen to the 2014 Rose Bowl between Michigan State and stanford on Wednesday, Jan. 1, with coverage beginning at 5 pm ET on SiriusXM channel 84.